First engagements, weddings and pregnancies were the subject of Instagram “announcements”... now it’s break-ups.
“Many of my followers have grown up with me and feel more like family. As much as I struggled with the pressure to announce the end of my relationship, it would’ve felt dishonest refusing to acknowledge it and continue on as if nothing had happened. And I have to admit, I needed them too during this tough time.”
The experience was similar for content creator Katie Snooks, who announced her split from her fiancé one month after it happened. “He was very prominent in my YouTube videos and Instagram posts when we were together,” she recalls. “Once our relationship broke down and he suddenly disappeared from my content, I was visibly very low in the videos I was putting out. So I filmed a ‘we broke up’ video for my YouTube channel.
Social media influencer or not, as more of us share our lives with people online, perhaps it’s only natural that we’d post about a break-up, much like we might a promotion or a lifestyle change. “It could be seen as an aspect of the ‘announcement culture’ we see operating on social media,” says clinical psychologist Marc Hekster. “While it may not generate likes, it may generate attention or even sympathy.
The one catch in all this, though, is where everyone’s exes come into it. What’s the etiquette of posting about your break-up online? Do you need to ask your ex’s permission? And what if they react negatively to the announcement? “I called him the night before I posted it, and asked if it was okay,” says Van De Peer. “We laughed about it, and he said it was absolutely fine.” Snooks did the same.
For Smart, her ex simply wasn’t part of the equation. “We all go through tough times, low moments, and have our hearts broken,” she says. “I don’t think there’s any shame in sharing that journey online if it can help others going through something similar. As hesitant as I was to post the update, I am so pleased I did because it has brought more depth and value to my content, and consequently brought me closer to my followers.
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